*Author's Note* This is a short story I wrote in high school, hope you enjoy it.
Forbidden
The city streets were teeming with people, shivering in the late January cold, as the President announced the start of Prohibition. People knew it was coming, after the bill made headlines in 1917. Still, people were angry with his decision. All the people ever did at parties was drink. Chloe didn't care. She liked the start of prohibition. To her it meant that her father wouldn't come home drunk, and her brother would actually come home. Chloe was happy with the president's decision.
Being Irish meant you constantly drank. To Chloe, that meant you constantly went to parties, drank, and then got sick. Chloe hated going to parties because she didn't like the taste of alcohol. Chloe didn't like the Irish boys either. They all assumed she would get drunk and do whatever they asked. Chloe hated the boys like that. Chloe liked the English boys. They were sophisticated and kind. They never pressured her to do things she didn't want to do. The only problem was the fact that her family was so Irish, she could not be near the English boys.
Chloe headed towards her family's home. She turned to leave and ran into a boy, no, a man. She stepped back, embarrassed. The man, someone familiar, smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked down at her with his crystal clear blue eyes, his brown hair falling in chunks on his forehead.
"I'm sorry." Chloe squeaked. The man nodded.
"Don't be, it's alright. I'm Jonathon." He said with a rich English accent as he offered his hand.
"I'm Chloe." She offered her hand. He took it and kissed it, bowing deeply.
"Are you Irish?" he asked, her accent apparent in her voice. She nodded shyly and he smiled. "I think Irish women are beautiful. How old are you Chloe?"
"I just turned sixteen last week. What about you?"
"Well, Happy belated birthday. I'm nineteen."
"I…um…I'm not supposed to be around anyone who isn't Irish. I'm sorry Jonathon. You seem like a nice boy." She turned to leave.
"Don't go." He grabbed her hand gently.
"I thought you'd let me go." She smiled, happy he had stopped her.
"Now why would I let a beautiful Irish girl like you walk away from me?"
"I'm not sure." Chloe blushed deeply. Jonathon let go of her hand.
"I wouldn't. That's why. I do think you're beautiful Chloe. Please, come with me."
"Where?"
"I want you to meet my family. I don't care if you're not supposed to be around English people, I think you'd at least make a nice friend, if not more."
"Alright, I hope my family won't notice." Chloe nodded, but took no notice of the last part of his sentence, she was too captivated by his eyes. As Jonathon turned to walk away, he reached for her hand so he didn't lose her in the crowd, which sent Chloe over the edge. Jonathon took her from her part of town to the English side of town. He held her hand the whole way there, even after they had left the crowd. Once they got to Jonathon's house, he stopped, let go of her hand, and turned towards her.
"This is my house Chloe, be prepared though."
"Why?"
"My family is going to go crazy when they find out you're Irish, although it won't be hard, since you have such an accent."
"Like my family wouldn't know you're English."
"That's beside the point, Chloe. They won't be mad that you're Irish, they'll be intrigued. They're going to ask you a ton of questions. I hope you're prepared."
"Not really," She smiled, "but I'll live."
Jonathon smiled back as he lead Chloe up the stairs and opened the door for her. He shouted a "hello" into the house and was greeted by a symphony of "hellos" from his family. He lead her in and had her stand in the doorway. Chloe smiled a goofy smile as she thought of what was happening. She was so amazed by how polite Jonathon was. Her family would hate him.
Jonathon walked into the kitchen and kissed his mother's cheek. She hugged him back as Edward, Jonathon's 4 year old brother, ran around them.
"Mom, I have a friend with me." He stated boldly.
"Who?"
"This Irish girl named Chloe. She was across town, listening to the President's announcement. She turned to go home and bumped into me."
"Irish? Are her parents strict?"
"Very, but mom, she's gorgeous."
"Be careful Jonathon…" He nodded and went back to get Chloe.
Chloe had been standing in the doorway thinking. Jonathon came back and took her elbow gently, leading her to the kitchen. He introduced her to his mother and his younger siblings. Chloe smiled politely at all of them, a little shy. Jonathon's mother offered her some earl gray tea, which she politely accepted. They sat at the table and drank tea, talking about Chloe.
Two hours later Jonathon offered to walk Chloe home, it was nearly dinner now. Jonathon figured he should get her home before dinner. Chloe politely refused a cup of tea to go, and stood to leave. Jonathon's mother came to give her a hug, followed by a hug and a sticky kiss from Edward. Chloe smiled and said goodbye to them both. Chloe and Jonathon talked the whole way to Chloe's.
"Jonathon, where is your father?" Chloe asked, looking at him.
"He..." Jonathon stopped to collect his thoughts. "He was on the Titanic when it sank. They never found him." Jonathon looked off into the distance.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Chloe looked away, embarrassed. She remembered hearing about the Titanic sinking 8 years earlier.
"Don't be Chloe, it's not your fault, you didn't know. Frankly, I should've told you he was dead." He touched her shoulder. Chloe looked to him.
"Still, I'm sorry he's dead. Were you close to him?"
"Kind of. He was supposed to take me fishing when he got back."
"Oh. My dad is very harsh when it comes to the rules. Good luck getting through to him."
"I've been told I'm charming" Jonathon said with a smile.
"That you are." She replied with a smiled.
"Chloe..." Jonathon started as he stopped, grabbing Chloe's wrist gently. She stopped as well.
"Yes Jonathon?"
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"Not really, why?"
"Because, I feel I fell in love with you the moment our eyes met."
"But Jonathon, my father will kill you.."
"I'll talk to him, see if I can't make him like me."
"Jonathon, please, don't say that. You barely know me, you can't love me."
"But I do Chloe, I do."
"How do you know?"
"I just do..." Frightened by his statement, Chloe turned and ran the rest of the way home.
Jonathon didn't hear from or see Chloe for two months. He started to worry. He had fallen in love with her. He knew her from somewhere, a dream maybe. So she didn't believe in love at first sight, Jonathon knew it had happened to him. Jonathon spent hours a day walking around in the Irish neighborhood. He never happened to see Chloe. Jonathon started to worry that maybe she had killed herself. He thought that was too bizarre of a scenario.
Chloe had been avoiding Jonathon since he had told her he loved her. She went to the parties and drank the alcohol. All the parties had alcohol now that it was illegal. The black market was booming and Chloe's uncle got alcohol from his friend Al Capone in Chicago. Chloe drank, and she did what the boys asked of her. She hated herself for it in the morning, but she wanted to feel as Irish as possible, to forget the memory of Jonathon, though his memory was never far away. She hated the feelings his memories left in her mind, on her heart. She spent many of her days in the house, avoiding Jonathon, turning from the window when he walked by several times a day.
One day, Jonathon decided to knock on Chloe's door. He was scared, afraid that her father would hurt him, or hurt her. He took the chance and, after pacing around the neighborhood for an hour or so, he knocked on the door.
Chloe watched from her window, scared for him. Her heart longed to race down the stairs and drag Jonathon away, but her legs wouldn't move. She heard the knock, she heard her father get up from his usual spot in the living room, and she heard the door open. As soon as the door opened, she quickly and quietly opened the door to her room and crept to the top of the stairs, sitting just out of sight to listen to the conversation that was eminent.
Jonathon smiled politely as Chloe's father opened the door. The man looked him up and down slowly, looked back into the house, scoffed, and then sighed.
"Sir, please, let me explain before you say anything." Jonathon saw the man's eyes roll as he spoke. It was apparent that he was English. "I know you don't like English boys, your daughter told me. Don't be mad at Chloe though, it's not her fault. She ran into me back in January, and I nearly dragged her to my house to meet my mother. Sir, I think I'm in love with your daughter." He stood there, his hands shaking in his coat pockets.
Chloe sat at the top of the stairs, her finger in her mouth, afraid of her father's reaction. She shook as well, choking back tears as he said this. Her heart skipped a beat when he confessed his love for her to her father.
Chloe's father, in a rage, raised a hand to hit Jonathon, but a squeak from the top of the stairs stopped him.
"You're lucky kid, but don't EVER come back here again. My daughter will NOT marry an Englishman." He slammed the door in Jonathon's face and turned to face the stairs. He stormed up the stairs. Jonathon stood there, shocked for a moment. He choked back tears as he turned to walk home.
Chloe stood and ran back to her room when her father slammed the door in Jonathon's face. She heard him coming up the stairs and sat on her bed, scared. She shivered in fear. He slammed the door open.
"You know the rules you little brat. NO ENGLISH BOYS!" He screamed.
"But daddy.." she protested.
"Don't 'but daddy' me, I'm not kidding. You know the rules and you broke them anyways. If I ever see him again, or if he ever comes back around here, I will kill him Chloe! Dammit, now just get ready for the party tonight. You ARE going." He stormed out without listening to her side of the story.
Chloe sighed, choking back more tears as she got dressed for the party. Her father really wanted her to be with an Irish boy, but the Irish boys all wanted the same thing, and Chloe hated that. Nonetheless, she got dressed and headed to the party.
Jonathon walked home slowly, letting a few tears out only when he got to his house. His mother heard him crying and talked to him about what happened. He told his mother about Chloe's dad yelling, about how he stood there and listened to him scream at Chloe. He sobbed in his mothers arms, claiming that he loved Chloe, and needed a way to let her know.
Chloe's body was getting used to the alcohol now. She walked around the underground bar with a drink in her hand. The boys tried to get to her, but she walked by without noticing. After a few more drinks, the alcohol was starting to affect her. She started to let the boys talk to her. One boy grabbed her arm gently and lead her down the hall, to the quieter part of the bar. He pressed her up against the wall, kissing her. She let him. His hands started roaming her back, and she enjoyed it. After a few minutes of that, he started to tug at her top. Even with the alcohol in her system, Chloe knew this was wrong. She pushed him away, slapping him hard across the face. She ran past him and out of the bar. She didn't know where to go, so she just ran.
Jonathon decided that he needed to make one last-ditch effort to tell Chloe how he felt. He started walking, just walking. He walked to the central, neutral, part of town and sat by the fountain, amazed at how beautiful it looked at night, just like Chloe. Chloe, how he missed her.
Chloe ran, wherever she could think of. Home? No, too predictable. Jonathon's? She couldn't risk his life. The center of town! Chloe ran for the center of town, her legs taking a path they knew well, her mind, somewhere else. She ran and ran, not once getting tired, or even a bit winded. She saw someone sitting by the fountain and stopped, staring at the person.
Jonathon heard someone running and turned to look. He stared, thinking of how much this person, this girl, looked like Chloe. After they both stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only a minute, Jonathon suddenly realized, IT WAS Chloe! He was overjoyed to see her beautiful face and her gorgeous red hair. He stood and, using all of his willpower not to run, walked to her.
Jonathon walked up to Chloe, and she smiled, instinctively. Jonathon just put his arms around her, pulling her in close, without saying a word. Chloe smiled again, taking in his scent, everything about him. Jonathon finally pulled away after a long time and just looked at her.
"Chloe, I meant what I said when I told you I was in love with you. I have been so worried about you for the past two months. That was why I came to your house, because I was worried. I needed to know that you were ok."
"I know, I know." Chloe nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Chloe, I have something to ask you." Jonathon started.
"Yes?" Chloe was nervous now. Her father had been adamant about the no boys rule. Now Chloe was afraid Jonathon was going to propose.
"Do you love me?"
"I...Jonathon..." Chloe stuttered..
"You don't, I get it." Jonathon turned to walk away, rejected.
"No..." Chloe grabbed his wrist gently. "I never said that Jonathon. I do, I love you." She smiled
"Thank God." Jonathon smiled, pulling Chloe into a tight embrace. "I'm never letting you go Chloe, never. I don't care what your father says, he can't change how I feel about you."
A crack sounded in the night. Jonathon's eyes went wide, and his body limp. He fell to the ground. Chloe screamed and fell to his side.
"Jonathon! Jonathon!" She screamed. His eyes looked up at her and with his last breath he managed to tell her he loved her. Chloe stood up and looked around, the tears rolling down her face. Across the courtyard, stood her father, a gun in his hand. Chloe ran to him.
"What was that for?" Chloe screamed when she reached him.
"I said no English boys, Chloe. You know the rule."
"I don't care what you said Dad, I really don't care!"
"What about him made him so important Chloe?"
"You really want to know dad?"
"Yes, I want to know why he was so important to you.
"I loved him dad! I LOVED HIM!" She screamed into the night.
"I don't care, you know the rule!"
"I'll never be with another boy again!" Chloe screamed the last sentence as she ran away from him. Her father shot the gun, missing Chloe by a few inches. She screamed, turned down the next street, and off into the darkness.